Article of furniture



March I, 1938. R055 2,109,869

ARTICLE OF FURNITURE Filed March 28, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. Harry Lon R05$ M kW ATTORNEY.

March 1, 1938. H. L. ROSS ARTICLE OF FURNITURE Filed March 28, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 i\'\'E ,'TOR.

Lon Ra s ATTORNE Y.

Ha my Patented Mar. 1, 1938 I UNITED STATES PATIENT OFFICE 2,109,869 ARTICLE or FURNITURE Harry Lon Ross,Philadelphia, Pa. Application March 28, 1936, Serial No. 71,482 6 Claims. (01. 155-123) This invention relates to improvements in articles of furniture, being particularly directed to a table and chair assembly, of the folding type.

V rack or guide rail formation is formed within the confines of the table for supporting and main taining the chairs therein when the latter are not in use; the table being so formed and the rack assembly therein being so disposed as to substantially conceal the chairs when maintained therein, except at the ends.

Another object of this invention is to provide a table and chair assembly which, by its novel construction, may be folded to approximately half its width, with means applied to the undersurface of the side leaves, or the top, to receive and support the several folding chairs when such assembly is not being used. Such table and chair combination is extremely useful and adaptable to meeet the demands of modern apartments, game rooms, sun porches, and the like, where storage space is at a premium, since said table and chair assembly may be so folded into a single or self-contained unit, and at the same time present an attractive piece of furniture when such is not being used for card playing or dining.

Specifically, it is an object of this invention to provide for atable wherein a plurality of guide rails or track formations are disposed on the under-surface of the side leaves for supporting or maintaining folded chairs in a horizontal position when not in use. The table may be constructed in a modified form, whereby hooks or said guide rails are disposed beneath the flat top of said table so that the folded chairs may be suspended in a vertical position.

These objects and others, such as economical construction, strength and lightness of structure and pleasing appearance, are accomplished by the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and illustratedin the accompanying drawings, constituting a material component of this disclosure, and in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a table and group of associated chairs as arranged for individual service.

Figure 2 is a similar view of the same, the chairs being folded and secured within the confines of the table to be moved as a unit.

Figure 3 is another like view of the device, the chairs being attached in a modified manner.

Figure 4 is an end elevational view of the de vice as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on line 55 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary sectional detail view taken on line 6-6 of Figure 4.

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the toggle joint levers for supporting the table side leaves.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 8--8 of Figure 7.

Figure 9 is a similar sectional view of the leaf retaining latch and connections.

Figure 10 is a transverse sectional view of the device shown in Figure 3.

Referring in greater detail to the drawings, the table or stand is shown to be composed of a main top l5 and a pairof side leaves l6 connected by hinges I! at their lateral edges.

These hinges may preferably be of the lock type, whereby the sides are held firmly when folded downwardly and also when extended level with the surface of the fixed top l5 to form substantially a rectangular flat surface.

The table legs are of tubular construction, consisting of spaced apart level feet l8, extending longitudinally of the table and adapted to rest upon a floor or equivalent surface, having upwardly curved ends blending into upright legs I9 connected by cross members 20 disposed adjacent the ends of the top element l5 and connected rigidly to its ends by lugs 2| welded or otherwise fixed to the cross tubes and provided with straps 22 held by screws or like-fastenings to the underside of the table top, as best seen in Figures 5 and 6.

The sides iii are held rigidly when raised by pairs of toggle joint levers 24-25, see Figure '7, the levers 24 being attached by pivot screws 26 to the legs I 9.

The mating levers 25 are pivoted at 21 to angular brackets 28 fixed on the under surface of the sides I6, and connected by pivots 29 to the outer ends of the levers 24, which rest on inturned flanges 30 at the inner, lower extremities of the levers 25, the arrangement being such as to afford an efficient support for the table sides which can only be released by lowering the levers at a point adjacent the pivots 29.

In order to retain the sides l6, when hanging pendant, from inadvertent movement, notches 32 are formed in their lower inner corners to receive latches 33, pivoted at 34,l in the legs l9, these latches being normally forced outwardly through openings 35 in the legs, see Figure 9, by compression springs 36 and are manually retractable when it is desired to extend the sides.

In the form of table shown in Figures 1, 2, 3

and 4, a series of rods 31 are provided with feet 38 held by fastenings 39 to the inner surfaces of the sides It, these rods being uniformly spaced and level, constituting in. efl'ect, pairs of opposed shelves or rack assembly.

The chairs, preferably four in number, consist of seats 40, supported at their sides, near the front by rearwardly inclined tubular legs 4|, connected thereto by pivots 42 and provided with cushioned feet 43 at their lower ends. The seat 40 of each chair is pivotally and slidably connected to the rear legs 44 in any well known The rear legs 44 have similar terminals at their lower ends and extend upwardly at an angle above the level of the seats 40.

The upper ends of the rear legs are integrally united by a cross piece 45, from which depends a flexible cushion 46, the lower end edge of which engages a cross strap 41.

The front legs are cross connected by straps 48 and are pivoted at 49 to rear legs 44 at their points of intersection.

Thin rods 50 engage at their upper ends with the ends of the straps 41 to extend in close relation to the rear legs, nearly to their bottoms, to which they are secured.

It will now be seen that the chairs are readily collapsed and foldable into a thin fiat position, easily insertible within the spaces formed by the shelf rods 31 to rest securely thereon, when the sides It are folded downwardly and secured in such position by the latches 33.

In the modification shown in Figures 3 and 10, in place of the support rods as previously described, a series of hooks are fixed in rows under the main top l5 of the table, and the chairs suspended by engaging the rods 50 directly on the hooks, permitting the chairs to hang pendant.

It is to be understood that the construction of the chairs is immaterial, as any type of chair capable of being flat folded, may be used, the chairs being suspended below the main table top and held securely within the confines of the folded leaves.

The foregoing disclosure is to be regarded as descriptive and illustrative only, and not as restrictive or limitative of the invention, of which obviously an embodiment may be constructed including modifications without departing from the general scope herein indicated and denoted in the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A table comprising a top, side leaves hinged to the table top, the latter forming when disposed horizontally with the top, a rectangle of equal length and width, tubular legs connected to the ends of said top, spaced pairs of toggle joint levers attached to said legs and the respective side leaves to support said leaves when raised, said leaves having notches in the outer ends, spring impelled latches pivoted in said legs to engage the notches when said leaves hang pendant, thereby to retain them rigid, and tiers of spaced rods fixed on the under surfaces of said leaves to extend longitudinally thereof, said rods acting as shelves to support folded seats entered therebetween in collapsed condition when the leaves are disposed vertically.

2. A table comprising a unitary flat top, legs extending downwardly from the table top, side leaves hinged to said top, means to support said leaves when extended horizontally, other means to retain said leaves when positioned vertically, and tiers of spaced tracks affixed to the under surfaces of said leaves to extend longitudinally thereof, said tracks acting as shelves to engage and support folded chairs placed therebetween, when the leaves are disposed vertically.

3. A table comprising a top including a central stationary section and side leaves hingedly connected thereto, supporting legs extending downwardly from the stationary section, means for supporting the hinged side leaves in a raised horizontal position, coacting track forming members arranged on the underside of the hinged leaves for slidably receiving and supporting a folded chair when the leaves are disposed in a lowered vertical position, and additional means for holding the table leaves from swinging outwardly when said leaves are disposed vertically.

4. A table comprising a top including a central stationary section and side leaves hingedly connected thereto, supporting legs extending downwardly from the central stationary section, means for supporting the hinged side leaves in a raised horizontal position, coacting pairs of tracks arranged longitudinally in spaced relation on the underside of the hinged leaves acting as shelves for receiving and supporting a plurality of folded chairs that are insertible on said tracks from the end of the table, when the hinged leaves are disposed in a lowered vertical position, and additional means for holding the table leaves from swinging outwardly when said leaves are disposed vertically.

5. A table comprising a top including a central stationary section and side leaves hingedly connected thereto, supporting legs extending downwardly from the central stationary section, means for supporting the hinged side leaves in a raised horizontal position, and means on the inner faces of the hinged leaves for receiving and supporting a folded chair in a generally horizontal position when said leaves are disposed vertically.

6. A table comprising a top including a central stationary section and side leaves hingedly connected thereto, supporting legs extending downwardly from the central stationary section, means for supporting the hinged side leaves in a raised horizontal position, and means on the inner faces of the hinged leaves for receiving and supporting a folded chair in a generally horizontal position when said leaves are disposed vertically and means for locking the leaves against movement relative to each other.

HARRY LON ROSS. 

